City Winery (Chicago)
July 21, 2022
Showtime: 8 p.m.
Doors: 6 p.m.
Tickets: City Winery
After getting his break opening for guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1984, Colin James has been honing his signature blues rock sound throughout his impressive nearly-40-year career. Hailing from Saskatchewan, the chart-topping, record-breaking Canadian musician is promoting his latest album, Open Road, on the open road and stopping in Chicago for a fun, bluesy bash. “I’m opening doors for you – walk through them.” -Stevie Ray Vaughan From the prairies of Saskatchewan to sharing the stage with arguably the greatest and most influential guitarist of all time, Colin James still remembers those words of advice given to him by the late, great, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Colin James has taken those words to heart. His career has spanned over 30 years, with a track record that includes 20 studio albums, 7 Juno Awards, 27 Maple Blues Awards and multi-platinum record sales. His latest release, Open Road, is a celebration of personal connections. It includes original tunes written with long time collaborators such as Colin Linden, Craig Northey and Tom Wilson and reinterpretations of covers by a diverse group of songwriters including Bob Dylan, Albert King, Tony Joe White and others. Looking back over Colin’s career, it’s a timeline rich in highlights. His 1988 self-titled debut was the fastest selling album in Canadian history. It won him his first Juno and an opening spot on tour with Keith Richards. His second album, Sudden Stop, featured his hit “Just Came Back,” which reached #3 on the U.S. radio charts and earned him the Juno Award for Single of the Year. His 2018 album Miles To Go garnered worldwide attention, debuting on the Billboard Blues Charts and holding a position on the RMR Blues Chart for 24 weeks, 14 weeks in the top 10. Colin was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2013.